Clutch-operating mechanism.



G. FRlNK.

CLUTCH OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED on. 30. I915.

Patented Dec. 11, 191?.

mmmo ATTORNEY l/L/YE/VTOR v WWMWMMWWML at power agent. p

A still further object of the inventionis.

will be hereinafter described m Rigidly secured to said gear 8 whlch is driven by ennui) ramx, or smrrm, wasnmeron.

CLUTCH-OPERATING MECHANISM. 1

' aramie.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October so, 1916. Serial in. 128,437.

. To all whom it may concern: I

' Be it known that I, GERALD FRINK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle,

' in the county of King. and State of Wash:

an axial bore 12 to accommodatea rod 13 5 ington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutch-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification. I 1 1 This invention relates tomechanism for to operating friction clutches through the agency of fluid underpressure.

cipal-object of my lnvention is the provi- SlOIl of improved devices -wherebythe shift-r able clutch element may: be actuated by a fluid power medium to positively couple or disengage the same from the other clutch element.

A further object of the invention is-to provide means whereby the clutch-operating. 2t mechanism may be carried by the drum shaft of a hoistin engine and'in proximity to one of the 'sha ts journal boxes Without subjecting the latter to the influence of steam where the same is employed as the theprovision pressure of ployed for actuating W aloly maintaining it pressure as will insure eflicient work. With .theseand other ends in view, the

invention consists in the novel construction, adaptation and combination of parts, as

of means for. regulating the the power agent when em- In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating an embodiment of my invention applied to parts of a-hoisting engine. Fig. 2 is a trans- W versevertical section of the steam pressure controller shown at, the right hand side of Fig. l. c Fig. 3 is a view partly in end elevation and partly in tributer ring employed in Fig. 4: is a plan view of a portion of the shaft and associated parts.

The reference numeral shaft which is. journaled in'bearmg boxes 6 and .6 provided in a machine frame.

' shaft, .as by. means of 5 designates a a key '7, is a spur a 'inion (not shown) to rotate the shaft.-

t ounted loosely on sald shaft Mama at one end wi clurh elem The prinend of the drum.

. cylinder head engage the clutch and releasengaged under-such and claimed.

. the bore of the cylinder,

section of the fluid disthe machine. 1

- end of the cylin packing or gaskets ,28 is a drum element 11- prosuitably shifted.

The shaft 5 is provided at one end with having near its inner end a slot in which is engaged a key 14 of a lengthsuflicient to extend through and protrude outside of a slot 15 extendingdianietrically through the shaft. 1

1'6 designates acollar mounted "on between the key and the flange 17} of member 17 which is rigidly secured to As best shown in Fig. it the opposing faces of the collars 16 and-16? are desirabl the 'shaft'between'the drum 9 andthe he '14,- and 16? is a collar similarly mounte the adjacent Patented De 11 1917.

provided with slots 16 to embracethe en 5 of the key Hand cause-the collars to rotate with the key and shaft. j

Theouter end of the rod 13 is secured to and serves as the piston-rod for apiston 18 which is operable in ag cylinder I9 disposed *in axial alinement with the shaft and".

rigidly connected therewith by having the extremity. 5 of the shaft.

The cylinder is bored to provide a chainber 21, hereinafter designated as the setat-t eopposite side of the(p chamber 22,- hereinafter esignated .as the retracting chamber is aiforded between the peripheral-wall of the cylinder bore and a portion 20 of the head which extends 1n to as shown in Flg. 1. The piston 18.is

operates in the retractand the'space 25 about the piston rod.

"26 represents a nongrotatable' cylindrical casing extendin 'ally throu'gh th outer er and having a stufling box a gland 27 for retaining place.

the casmgis a tube provided with Extending through a screw -threaded formed at the periphery with a rim 18F which ing chamber 22.

29 whereby communication is had between I the setting chamber shaped opening in the. bracket.

21 and a 'pipe through which the power agent, as steam, for example, is conducted to and from such setting chamber. I About the tube 29 in said casing is pro vided an annular cavity 31 which is connected by a pipe 32 whereby the steam is conducted to and from said cavity and thence to the retracting chamber 22 through passages 33 provided in the cylinder walls, as shown. Between the cavity 31 and said passages, employ a distributer 34 in .the' nature of an aperturedannulus which is positioned intermediate the packing rings 28. Said distributer is provided with inner and outer peripheral grooves 35 (Fig. 3) .to afford connections through casing holes 36 with the cavity 31 in the casing and also with the cylinder passages 33. l

37' represents the casing of a four-way valve 38 of the rotary type, said casing being provided with openings to receive the pipes 30 and 32 and also pipes 39 and 40, the pipe-39 being an exhaust pipe leading to the atmosphere and the other pipe, 40, is connected with a source from which the o erating fluid is supplied, such as a steam oiler, not shown. The valve 38 is manipulated by means of a lever handle, indicated by 41.

Included in the invention and located between the pipe 30fand the communicating tube 29 is a controller for'selectively regulating the pressure of the steam supplied to the setting chamber 21.-

Such controller is illustrated in its preferred form'in Figs. 1 and 2, and comprises a chambered body 43 having branches 44 and 45 for connecting the same to the tube 2 9-and the pipe 30. Interiorly of the casing and between such connections is a partition 46 having an opening about which is a seat for a valve47. The stem 48 of this valveis connected with a flexible diaphragm 49 extending across the compartment 50 of relatively large diameter. The valve stem 48, moreover, extends through the lower end wall 43 of the body and terminates in a bifurcated end 48 which seats upon a lever 51 which is fulcrumed from one end by a pin 52 to a rod 53 depending from the body 43. The other end of lever 51 engages an" end of a helical extensible spring 54 which'is suspended from an eye-bo1t 55 having a screw-threaded shank 55 through a'bracke't 43 to engage in a threaded hole provided in' the boss 56 of an operating handle 56 positioned above said bracket. 7 Y

The eye-bolt is secured a ainst turning by making-a part of the shanli polygonal, as indicated by 55 to fit in a correspondingly- To facilitate the adjustments of the spring graduation marks, as 57, (F ig. 1) are desirably 49 which tends to \will be understood,

, adjusts the handle 56 which extends provided beneath the handle 56 per surface of the bracket.

By turning the handle in one rotary direction or the other, the effective power of the spring 54 will be increased or diminished with a corresponding capacity to maintainthe valve 47 more or less open with respect to its seat, and in opposition to the fluid pressure acting against the diaphragm close the valve, and, as the press e of the fluid beyond the valve may be lessened below that obtaining in the pipe by suitably regulating the power of the spring through themedium on the upof the handle56.

In operation, the steam or other fluid under pressure is admitted selectively into either the chamber 21 or the chamber 22 to actuate the piston 18 according to whether the drum is to be'set' forward to couple the same with the spur-gear through the medium of clutch elements 10 and 11, or the drum is to be retracted from such engagement.

During these actions the drum shifting is accomplished through the agency of the pis- -ton rod 13, the key 14 and one or the other of the collars 1G or 16 acting between the drum and the flange 17 of the member 17 which, in effect, is an extension of the drum.

y reason of the difference between the 'areas of the opposite ends of the piston which are subjected a) the action of the fluid in the chambers 21 and 22, it is evident that the power'applied for coupling the drum tothe spur-gear and maintalning it in such relation is greater than that utilized for separating the same.

Under certain conditions, as in log ingo erations, it is advantageous to regulate t e pressure acting to retain the clutch in engagement so that when an excessive load is encountered the drum will slip, so to speak, with respect to the driving gear.

To attain this result and also relieve the machine from undue strains, the operator to regulate the effective power of the spring 54 which controls the pressure of the fluid supplied to the setting chamber 21, thereby regulating the power exercised through the piston to impart more or less rapid movements to the drum in clutching the same, and also enabling the operator to regulate the force by which the drum is maintained in engagement with the spur wheel 8.

The "advantages of the invention reside together withthe peculiar manner of packing so that steam may be used without injuriously affecting the drum shaft, the journal bearings therefor, or interfering with.

the work by reason of hot boxes.

What I-clai'm as my invention, is-

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a hollow shaft, and clutchoperating mechanism extending into said shaft, of a cylinder secured to an end of theshaft and havinga portion of one of its ends projecting into the cylinder bore, a piston within the cylinder, said piston being provided with a rim extending into the. ah'nular space surrounding said projecting portion of the cylinder end, operative connections between the piston and said clutch-operating mechanism, and means to supply afluid.

, power agent into the {aforesaid annular I shaft, a piston operable within the cylinder, .said piston being provided with a rim porspace or into the cylinder space at the opposite side of the piston, selectively. v

2. In apparatus of the class described, a

shaft, clutch mechanism, a cylinder connectedjto one end of the shaft, said, cylinder be in provided with an axially disposed cylindrical portion projecting into the cylinder bore from the cylinder head adjacent to the tion which extends. into the annular space surrounding the aforesaid cylindrical portion of the'head, packing for the inner and outer peripheries of the piston rim, a rod connected to the piston and extending intothe shaft, operative connections between the piston rod and said clutch mechanism, and means to' supply fluid under pressure into either said annular space orinto the cylinder space at the opposite side of the piston to impart movements thereto to effect the disengaging or engaging of said clutch meohamsm. r

3. In apparatus of the class described, the

combinatlon with a shaft and clutch mechanism carried thereby,-.of a steam cylinder having concentric walls and fc'onnected to said shaft, a piston having a rim extending into the annular chamber between said piston walls; a piston rod extending into said shaft and operatively connecting the piston with said clutch mechanism, passages connected with said annular chamber and the chamber at the opposite side of the piston therefrom, a valve provided for said pas- I sages and aflording communication through a selected one of said passages between a source of steam supply and one of said chamber and also aflordin communication between the other of said 0 ambers and the between said walls; a piston-rod, means to supply steam predeterminately to either end of the cylinder, and means to pack the Pieton and one of said cylinder walls to protect said piston-rod fromdirect contact with the steam. l

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 16th day of October, 1916.,

I GERALD FRI NK. Witness:

I E. PETERSON. 

